In 1829 when farmers hiked up the price of sour milk, women rioted at Kilmarnock cross. They smashed milk jugs on the heads of anyone who paid the new prices, threw milk at the police, and flooded streets with milk from the carts.
Their cause won out. The farmers went back to charging the old fair price for milk.
In 1421, 5 nobles murdered the Sheriff of Glenbervie by shoving him in boiling water “til he wis sodden an suppit in bree”.
They “supped” the “bree” with horn spoons (it’s unclear why). A vat and human skull were found SE of Laurencekirk in 1875 near Garvock.
Before the 19th Century, Lanark was so poor the butcher wouldn’t kill a beast until every cut of meat was bought ahead of time. The town crier of Lanark, known there as the Skellyman would advertise when a beast was up for sale.
Here is one of their advertisements:
I love the predilection the OldWeirdScotland had for “monster” vegetables. Burns’ Night at Major Cumming’s!
Every Halloween until 1671, folk from Lewis (the Leòdhasaich) offered a cup of specially-brewed beer to the sea-god Seonaidh (Shoney) in return for lots of washed up seaweed to fertilise crops. The remaining beer fueled an all-night dance party near Eòropaidh.
Unsurprisingly it was the church that spoiled the fun. It took father and son Donald and Kenneth Morrison, ministers, at least 20 years to stop the tradition. The latter always preached with a sword in his belt and his church had two armed guards on Sundays.
UNSPOKEN. adj. having healing powers because the object was collected and used in silence.
Unspoken water was collected under a bridge on a cemetery road and given to invalids to drink. In Kincardineshire, unspoken nettles were a cure-all.
Suggested menu from the OldWeirdScotland.
Courtesy of Elisabeth Cleland of the Luckenbooths, Edinburgh, 1755.
